


An Opportunity Once Stolen

by TaylorLeighWrites



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: #Clone Trooper, #Clone Wars, #Jedi, #Padawan, #Rebels, #Star Wars - Freeform, #The Force - Freeform, #adventure, #bounty hunter, #friendship, #mission, Gen, Original Character(s), Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-20
Updated: 2015-06-20
Packaged: 2018-04-05 07:47:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4171707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaylorLeighWrites/pseuds/TaylorLeighWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a Separatist governor is in fear for his life from the rebellious planet he has been stationed to govern, he turns to the Republic for help. In return for information, the senate has agreed to protect him. Senator Padme Amidala, escorted by Depa Billapa and her new Padawan, Caleb Dume, are sent to the watery world of Mahdella, on a negotiation mission that is about to go terribly wrong.<br/>Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker, his Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Obi-Wan Kenobi are mired in their own problems. Fighting on a world far away, they find themselves on the chase of an all-too clever villain, taking them across the galaxy, desperate anything that could turn the tide of the war.<br/>For an Opportunity once stolen is fought hard to regain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Opportunity Once Stolen

**An Opportunity Once Stolen  
**

_Zahn bowed deeply, his pale green-grey skin glistened with sweat as he tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his nervousness. The problem had gotten out of hand too quickly; he could only pray now that the Count would be understanding about the situation. He needed Dooku to understand that it was the people’s fault. They had resisted what was supposed to be an easy takeover. They had not appreciated the protection he had set up around the cities. They had refused to pay the small, necessary taxes to the new governor. Things had spiralled out of control alarmingly fast._

_It wasn’t his fault._

_Mahdella had always been a planet known for its rebellions. Treachery after treachery, turning on its neighbouring planets and on the Republic with almost predictable regularity. Yet they had seemed surprisingly welcoming to the Separatists, so it was beyond Zahn why they now resisted his new leadership with such vehemence. Yes, he had his flaws, but this was a learning experience for him._

_Zahn was, first and foremost, a business man. He, like most of his species, had stepped from his larval stage and left his home planet of Cato Neimoidia to make a name for himself. And he had spent much of his life—up till now—trading along the Rimma Trade Route, working back and forth along the planets and systems. Then there had been the nasty business on Naboo. The Trade Federation began to lose its credibility till the start of the war and now yet his loyalty paid off; he had been promoted to governor of Mahdella._

_However, Zahn was beginning to lose his sanity, he was sure. The constant threats and attacks on his now heavily fortified palace strained his nerves. He had never been a heroic or brave person, and this, this enough to keep him in constant sweats and dashes to the lavatory._

_So here he was: begging the Count to help. Perhaps, Zahn hoped, more droids could be sent to quell the violence? Or perhaps someone else could take charge. Whatever needed to be done, Zahn knew he’d never be able to sleep soundly on his feather bed again till this had stopped._

_‘You were put in this position and agreed to be responsible for any possible disturbances.’ Dooku reminded him, the Count’s voice was calm, yet Zahn could detect the irritation._

_‘Yes, my lord, I know. But I was wrong. I cannot keep this situation under control for much longer. Not without more troops or, perhaps intervention? You, my lord could—’_

_‘Do not ask me to fix the mistakes you have made in your incompetence!’ Dooku growled angrily, pushing past the quaking Zahn. He hadn’t expected a visit from the Count in person, and was completely regretting contacting him at all. ‘My lord, what can be done then? Sir?’_

_Dooku continued down the hall, leaving the Neimoidian rooted to the spot. ‘I must speak with my Master; there are far more pressing matters than yours, Rah, if your self-centred little brain could comprehend such a thing. I will discuss with you your…fat… later.’ Dooku punched the button for the briefing room door and swept inside. With a hiss the way was locked. Rah Zahn stood still on the spot for a quick moment of indecision, then hurried as fast as his elaborate shimmersilk robes would allow._

_What Zahn lacked in bravery, he made up for in untrustworthiness. The idea that Dooku might be discussing what to do with him was terrifying—terrifyingly irresistible. Visions of public executions—or worse, demotion—swam though his mind._

_Stumbling into the nearest closed door, Zahn fished his comlink out from the folds of his robe and fumbled with shaking hands to find the right frequency. As paranoid as he’d been—no, as_ careful _—he’d taken the precaution of bugging every room in the palace. What the Count would do if he knew such a thing, Zahn did not worry about. All the Neimoidian focused on now was concentrating hard on listening, and the words that came to him made his dull red eyes widen in horror._

_*****_

Blue streaks of stars tore past the _Venator_ \- class Star Destroyer _Intrepid_ as its journey drew to a close. The ship had broken from the fleet it had left behind on Bimmisaari, where a battle was swiftly drawing to a close. Satisfyingly, the Separatist general, a Muun by the name of Ith Idor, had lost his fleet to the Republic and was now in custody.

Almost immediately after the skirmish, before the dust had time to settle, the Jedi Council had called out the _Intrepid_ to help a nearby system for a matter that had nothing to do with battle.

The strong, all too familiar features of clone Commander Grey scowled darkly. He wasn’t too pleased with the mission before him. If it wasn’t a battle, he wished it would be left to others. This sort of thing wasn’t what he and his brothers were bred for, yet he went where he was told, as they all did.

From what he understood, when the planet of Mahdella was overtaken by the Separatists, a new ruler was placed in charge. A Neimoidian, Rah Zahn, who was—reportedly—not the bravest of most souls, but had greedily taken possession of the planet; gloating over his new position. No big surprises there.

Grey had gathered that the people of Mahdella had always been a rather volatile group. They did not loudly protest the Separatist occupation—for the planet had always been on the outs with the Republic. It was common knowledge most freighters and transport opted to go around the system, due to the fact that the hyperspace lanes were teeming with Mahdellan pirates. It wasn’t a safe place to travel, or to visit. Which was a pity, for the oceans were reportedly turquois blue and the islands numerous dots of peace.

It turned out, however, that Zahn began to discover how difficult it was to rule such an unruly planet. Even with the great protection of battle droids in his service, the outbreaks of violence and terrorism against him were growing daily. He had begged for help from his Separatist peers, but was denied assistance, told that there were bigger problems than his own and he had better figure out how to stop the resistance or suffer the consequences.

It was the surprise of all when Zahn, with stung pride and the ever increasing worry of a planet-wide outbreak of war, secretly called to the Republic for help. He pleaded with the Senate, explaining how he could not run the planet and was fearing for his life. In return for help, he offered to give the Republic vital information about the Separatist’s bases and fleet locations, as well as the planet, itself.

Grey didn’t buy it.

The Senate had argued long and hard about the issue while the _Intrepid_ and her fleet were fighting above Bimmisaari. Groups were in favour of helping out the planet, in hopes of gaining more support from the system. Yet other were not, due to the fact that many of their pocketbooks were still secretly being funded by groups such as the Trade Federation and the Techno Union.

It was an unfortunate truth that the Senate—located on the capital planet of Coruscant—had long been known for its corruption and bureaucracy. Senators often leaned towards prospects that would advance their own careers and credits. When there was something to be gained for themselves, the interest of the systems and people they represented were more likely than not forgotten.

There were a few sane members out there, including the senator from the planet of Naboo, Padmé Amidala, Bail Organa of Alderaan and of course, the guiding light of these dark and troubled times, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine.

From what Grey understood, but did not really care—Palpatine, also from the small world of Naboo, had become Chancellor about twelve years earlier, thanks to a vote of no confidence in the previous leader, Finis Valorum. The Valorum family had been in control for generations, but, as so often was the case, had slowly grown unpopular with the people. With the uprising on the planet of Naboo, the calm and reasonable leadership of Palpatine had won the favour of the people.

Palpatine had already been in office past his term, but the galaxy seemed to want no one other than him to lead them through the war; as if he alone could bring it to the long awaited close.

At last, after near endless debating, the senate decided to send a lone senator with a Jedi escort to meet with Zahn. Since Bimmisaari was much closer to Coruscant than Mahdella was, the senator had arrived there, and was now accompanying the _Intrepid_ to their destination.

Yet even though one of the senate’s best negotiators was accompanying them, even though he trusted his Jedi superior with his life, Grey didn’t trust Zahn in the slightest. He wouldn’t admit to being speciesist, but he had never liked Neimoidians. They were greedy, cowardly and the slimy, fish-faced grubs were better off wiggling about in the caverns they hatched in.

Grey became aware of a figure standing next to him. He turned and saluted. ‘General Billaba, we will be arriving at Mahdella in just a few minutes.’

General Depa Billaba was a petite, dark haired woman, looking as serious as her previous master, Mace Windu. She was a quiet person with sharp brown eyes that burned through a being as piercing as a lightsaber.

‘Very good, Commander.’ She raised her comlink. ‘Senator Amidala, we are approaching Mahdella. We should be there shortly.’ The soft voice of Senator Padmé Amidala came back over the comlink. ‘Thank you, General. I’ll be up on the bridge as quickly as I can.’

Depa turned as the doors leading to the bridge opened with a hiss. _The Senator can’t be up that fast, could she?_ She turned to see her young, boisterous Padawan, Caleb Dume enter. He smiled a greeting and came to stand beside his Master, bobbing on his heels. ‘Do you really think this meeting will go well, Master?’

Depa turned to her Padawan. ‘You have doubts that it won’t?’

‘Well, how can we trust someone who works for the Separatists?’ Caleb was frowning.

‘I agree with him, sir. This feels like a trap.’ Grey spoke up from where he had been quietly speaking with a tech officer.

Depa nodded. ‘I am not going into this situation without considering that, Grey. It is, of course, suspicious. But, we have to learn to start believing in honest pleas again. Too many principles have been lost during this war.’

Caleb had to admit that those so called “principles” were a bit old fashioned. He had—practically—grown up in the war; treachery and deceit were what turned the galaxy. It was foolish to put faith in someone you didn’t know, especially someone who had been working with the Separatists! His Master was usually so a careful person, so he didn’t understand why Depa was so easily going along with the plan. It seemed completely idiotic.

 

The blue-grey planet of Mahdella blinked into view as the _Intrepid_ came out of hyperspace. In front of the planet, drifting like a thick strand of pearls, glittered thousands of bobbing objects.

The Jedi Knight frowned. ‘Does Mahdella have an asteroid field?’ she asked to no one in particular. ‘Not that we know of, general,’ called a clone tech, leaning over a data screen.

‘Are they satellites or something?’ Depa’s apprentice asked, walking towards the large viewport. ‘They are technology, sir. And we are detecting a large amount of radiation being emitted from them.’

‘They’re mines.’ Depa said after a moment.

Grey turned to look at her. ‘Mines?’ his features darkened. ‘I always did have a bad feeling about this mission.’ He muttered.

Depa shook her head. ‘This planet is known to be unfriendly. I highly doubt these mines were placed here just for us.’

The bridge doors opened again and the group turned to see Senator Amidala enter. Depa bowed slightly. ‘Ah, Senator. Just in time. We’ve run into a slight snag in this mission, I’m afraid.’ She gestured towards the planet and its sparkling barrier.

‘What is that?’ Padmé asked, hurrying forward for a better look.

Senator Amidala was a beautiful, slight woman with dark brown hair and equally brown deep eyes. The former queen of Naboo, she had been through the first tensions brought about by the Trade Federation. Ten years later, she had again been involved with the Federation when they had tried to assassinate her. It was during that time she was put under the protection of a Jedi. Depa had been there, on Geonosis, when the Clone Wars had officially started. She knew the senator had long fought against corruption and did everything in her power to make the Jedi and clone’s lives easier as they fought the Republic’s war. Consequently, the Separatists had placed a large price on her head.

Depa strode with Padmé to stand next to the large window. The Jedi clasped her hands behind her back. On her left was the senator and on her right were Grey and her Padawan. As a group they stared out at the sparkling strands of metal. ‘They’re mines, I believe.’Depa said in answer to Padmé’s question.

A slight flicker of anger, an unusual emotion for the senator, flashed across her features. ‘Mines? This is a trap then!’

Depa frowned as she spoke. ‘I am not so sure, Senator. Our meeting with Zahn here is secret. I believe these mines were here before this meeting was arranged.’

‘The mines could be deactivated, couldn’t they?’ Caleb spoke up. A tech officer shook his head. ‘No, sir. Our scans show they are all active.’

‘These mines are only here to stop big ships like _Intrepid_ , or for that matter, any Separatist ship, from getting through. And since it would be rather ostentatious to have a Star Destroyer landing on the planet for a negotiation, we have no actual problem before us. A gunship wouldn’t have too much trouble with manoeuvrability,’ Depa mused.

‘Have we made contact with Zahn yet, letting him know we’ve arrived?’ Padmé asked.

The Jedi shook her head no. ‘I wanted to wait till you arrived. Besides, if they’ve any kind of security at all down there, it’s a good bet they already know we’re here.’

‘Well, let’s contact that squirming grub and find out.’ Grey grumbled, striding powerfully towards the holoprojector.

‘Commander, please try to be polite.’ Depa chided, following after him.

Padmé and Caleb drifted away from the bleak view in front of them and surrounded the device.

Grey punched a button. ‘Sorry, General. I don’t think that I’ll ever like them though; Neimoidians are all the same.’

‘One shouldn’t generalise. Not all are out to steal fortunes and destroy lives.’

‘I just don’t like cowards.’ Grey grunted; he cupped his scraggly chin in his hand and stared thoughtfully as a blue cone of light brightened before them.

Rah Zahn stood, somewhat stooped, wringing his fleshy hands together nervously and quivering slightly. He was not very tall, though the pointed miter on his head gave him the appearance of someone larger. Instead of well fed, as Grey had imagined, he looked almost sickly, thin and bent and trembling.

Depa cast a quick glance over at Grey with raised eyebrows. When Zahn saw them he gave out a little squeak of either joy or fright and then almost bent completely in half in an awkward bow. Grey’s upper lip started to pull up in a disgusted sneer.

‘Master Jedi!’ Zahn said, recovering some of his business savvy. ‘I pray your journey went well?’

‘It was just fine, thank you.’ Depa’s brow knit together. ‘Are you all right? You are nervous.’

The Neimoidian gave out a rather annoying high pitched laugh. ‘I’m always nervous these days. What with the uprising and all. Hardly a day goes by without a small bomb going off on the grounds or a sniper shooting at the windows of my house. I’m sorry I am not that presentable at the moment, but, as you can imagine, I haven’t slept in days. You wouldn’t believe how tightly I’ve had to make security. Why just yesterday, a group of battle droids was torn apart! Limb from limb and the day before—’

Depa held up a hand. ‘Terribly sorry to interrupt,’ she said, not sounding sorry at all. ‘This conversation would be much better to have face to face, wouldn’t you agree?’ The stern look on her face made it difficult for anyone not to agree.

‘Oh yes! Of course, of course.’ Zahn’s head bobbed up and down hurriedly in agreement.

‘Do you know anything about these mines, Governor Zahn?’ Padmé said, speaking for the first time.

Rah turned his attention to her. ‘Oh yes, yes. Nasty aren’t they? I’m afraid they have nothing to do with me though, otherwise I’d have them deactivated. I didn’t order them.’

Depa nodded. ‘So, the people you are presiding over placed them there?’ she asked, testing her theory.

Zahn shook his head. ‘No, no, no. There’s no way they could be placed there by the Moriee. When we—the Separatists I mean—when they took control of the planet, they sent out platoons of droids to destroy all the weapons and ships. Unfortunately for me, they didn’t seem to do a very thorough job, seeing as how many attacks I’ve had to suffer through. Battle droids are careless, they make so many mistakes. It’s hard to put your trust in them. Not like the clones, they’re always so—’

‘We do not take weapons and houses away from innocent people.’ Grey cut through Zahn’s words with a snarl.

Depa shot him a glance.

‘Of course you don’t, my friend! I wasn’t implying anything of the sort.’ Rah squeaked.

Depa took a deep breath. ‘Well, then do you know who _did_ set them up?’ She was getting tired of how off subject the conversation was straying.

‘Separatists, I think. I received a rather unpleasant visit for Count Dooku only four days ago. I tried to plead my case before him,’ he paused and took a mournful breath. ‘To no avail, I believe he wants to do more than just replace me. You can see why I have every rightful reason to be frightened for my life! It was after he left those terrible things arrived up there.’

Depa nodded. ‘Sir, would it be all right for us for us to take a gunship down so we can discuss all of this in person?’

‘Oh yes, that would be quite fine. I’ve sent the majority of the battle droids out to patrol the city, so you won’t have to worry about them. I’m also sending you the private launch codes, so you’ll be able to land right at the palace. It’s much more secluded and you will not attract as much attention.’

Depa dipped her head. ‘Thank you. We will speak again shortly.’

Grey cut the communication as Zahn doubled over yet again in a ridiculously low bow. The commander turned to Depa. ‘So the clankers set these up.’ He indicated the mines with a nod of his chin. ‘That doesn’t make me feel any better.’

‘And Zahn seemed incredibly nervous, didn’t he?’ Caleb said. ‘I doubt all of that has to only do with him fearing for his life.’

‘Yes,’Depa spoke hesitantly. ‘But I do not sense anything untrustworthy about him.’

‘ _Sense anything?_ Master, the only time you have spoken to him is over hologram!’ Caleb cried.

Depa cast him a dark look. ‘I know that, Padawan. But I have always had a good sense for people and I do think this man is being honest.’

‘No offence, sir, but I agree with Commander Dume. We have absolutely no reason to trust him and more than enough reasons not to!’ Grey grumbled.

‘I know. Just…’ The Jedi took a deep breath. ‘Just trust me on this one. You can tell me “I told you so” later.’

‘I agree with General Billaba on this one.’ Padmé said, smiling slightly at the grateful Depa.

‘We’ve come this far.’ Grey said with a submissive shrug. ‘You’ve always been able to get us through hard situations before.’

‘Thank you, commander. Well, Padawan, are you going to come willingly or resentfully?’ All eyes turned towards the lanky boy. He shuffled his feet. ‘I will always follow you, my Master.’

Depa grinned and put her hands on her hips. ‘Good, we’re all in agreement. It’s time we were off.’

‘I just need to gather up some things. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes.’ Padmé said. ‘If all goes well with this mission, it should be a relatively short trip. If Zahn has a good case for us to bring him under our protection, then we will bring him back to Coruscant with us.’

She turned to Grey. ‘I already have a gunship stocked with any necessary items. All we need is a few able bodied clones to accompany us.’

Grey nodded curtly. ‘Yes sir. I’ll head down to the hanger right now to round them up and get the engines of our ship prepped and ready to go.’

‘Thank you, commander.’ Depa said smiling as Grey hurried off. ‘All right, ten minutes and then meet up at the hanger.’

Padmé excused herself and left the bridge.

Caleb turned to his Master. ‘You had the gunship stocked with “necessary items”? What is that supposed to mean? Do you know something I don’t?’

‘As I already said, Caleb, it is good to be prepared. There is a chance that this is a trap. We need to be prepared for that.’

‘Why can’t that cowardly grub just fly up here instead of us all having to go down there? I’d feel so much better about all of this.’

‘I would too. Yet Zahn claims that the radical group that’s been terrorizing him blew up his hanger earlier in the week.’

‘Oh, that could just be an excuse though, to get us down there.’ Caleb started off after his Master as they headed back towards their quarters. ‘And what’s to stop these radicals from shooting our ship down or attacking us?’

‘More than not the Republic seems to be trusted over the Separatists. But I’ll admit, I don’t like the situation. Yet the senate is starving for some good news. Our fleets have been on the defensive for much too long. Gaining critical information on base and fleet locations could turn the tide of the war. All of us want this war to end… we must sometimes ignore our…reservations.’

‘But, didn’t Masters Windu and Yoda agree to this mission?’ Caleb frowned.

‘They realise as well as any of us that war always requires risk. But they advised me to be prepared for the possibility something will go awry.’

Depa Billaba had always had respect for her Jedi peers, but none so much as Master Mace Windu. The stern Jedi Master’s advice and input were always greatly revered by her. Depa was not a Jedi who would bend rules to complete a mission, or ignore advice. She took what the Jedi Council said to heart and went with that. Being the way she was she found it hard to work with some Jedi, while others she got along with rather swimmingly.

Caleb was usually always in disagreement with his Master, though he was still faithfully devoted to her. Caleb was one for breaking the rules. He liked being aggressive and always on the move, as opposed to his quiet, patient Master.

Though the ten minutes were slipping away, Depa still walked at a leisurely pace. This was another aspect that frustrated Caleb. Depa was always slow and steady while her Padawan always felt the need to hurry. Caleb was feeling tense and anxious, the way he always felt before a mission. The what ifs kept crowding his mind.

Depa never seemed to worry. Her mantra seemed to be ‘What ever happens, happens.’ And treading with great care, as she always did, missions were almost always pulled off smoothly. On one mission, Caleb had had the privilege of working with Jedi Knight Anakin SkyWalker and his Togruta Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. Caleb had found their style and mission approach much more agreeable than his own Master’s.

Caleb let out an audible sigh as they strode along the barrack’s hallway. Depa turned towards him with a raised brow. ‘Something bothering you, my Padawan?’

Caleb kept his gaze ahead. ‘No, my Master.’ He didn’t really feel the need to get into a conversation revolving the thoughts floating around in his head. He paused in front of his door. ‘I just need to get some things from my room real quick.’ The doors slid open.

His Master nodded. ‘All right, I’ll meet you down at the hanger.’

The doors hissed shut again.

 

The _Intrepid_ ’s hanger was both roomy and full of ships. Divided into two main parts, the hanger had a trench down the centre of it, which, when the hanger doors were opened above, allowed for ships on either side to leave the protective shield and into space. The two main sections were also divided into smaller sections of bombers, gunships, ARCs and a few Jedi starfighters. These groups made it easier for squadrons to be deployed. The _Nu_ -class attack shuttle that was sitting ready for the coming departure looked just like all the others—save for a brilliantly painted vine tiger snarling ferociously on the ship’s side.

The group of clones milling about had similar green and purple markings on their armour. The group of seven clones, including Grey, stood around with helmets off. Though the same, their faces were unique with the array exotic tattoos intermingled with the various scars of battles.

When Depa was introduced to them by Grey she learned their names were Boxer, Rand, Chance, Buck, Hunter and Snipe. They were a good, sturdy bunch, and Depa was glad to have them along. She briefed them on the situation. ‘I don’t know if we should be expecting an attack or not. This meeting is supposed to be secret. Do not open fire on any droids unless they make the first move. Your main job is to protect the Senator. Her safely will be our number one concern. If I feel things are about to get bad down there, we’re heading out. Everyone clear?’

She got a chorus of ‘Yes sir!’ and nodded her head, satisfied.

Grey edged closer to her, voice a growl. ‘We should bring more men. Like you said; if things get nasty down there—’

‘Too many men will attract too much attention, Grey. Remember we’re supposed to be _negotiating_.’ The Jedi flashed a grin. ‘Don’t worry. You’ve got two Jedi watching your back.’

Grey’s usual grim face grew darker, marred by a long scar. ‘It’s not my back I’m worried about. It’s the Senator’s. What if we get into a bad situation down there and she…’ he trailed off meaningfully.

Depa nodded, looping braids swinging. ‘From what I’ve heard, she can hold her own just as well as any of us. She’s been in hostage situations before. And she was at the battle on Geonosis, along with the rest of us. I have faith in her abilities.’

The clone didn’t look very convinced. ‘I still don’t feel any better about any of this.’

Depa looked up into his eyes. ‘It’s all right. Just leave the worrying to me. I’ll need you clear headed in case there _is_ trouble. And besides, your unbiased opinion on Neimoidians might come in handy helping me determine if he’s lying or not.’

Grey grunted, not amused.

‘Ah, here comes the senator and my Padawan. Let’s be on our best behaviour, boys.’ She chuckled quietly to the group at large and then strode forward to Padmé. The senator was wearing a tight fitting brown suit, sturdy travel boots and a shawl thrown over her shoulders. Depa was silently grateful the senator had dressed sensibly and not extravagantly—In the case of an emergency, Depa didn’t want to have to wait up for her struggling over the rugged terrain in a gaudy dress.

Caleb had a backpack slung over his shoulder and an eager look on his face. For this, Depa was also grateful. Her Padawan was prepared and seemed to anticipate the mission before them—despite his qualms. The boy trotted forward to the ship to say hello to the clones.

‘I will admit; I am glad to see you are prepared, Senator.’

Padmé smiled. ‘Master Billaba, I _have_ been on missions like this before. And I’ve learnt to expect the unexpected.’

‘Of this, Senator, I am very grateful.’ Depa turned back to the group of clones, who had engaged in an animated conversation with Caleb. Depa clapped her hands together twice to gain everyone’s attention. ‘Well, since we’re all here and ready, shall we be off?’

The clones nodded and briskly broke apart. Everything was already loaded and ready. All they needed to do was board and they’d be off.

The mission was finally underway.

 

As the hanger doors groaned open, the engines of the shuttle started to life and the ship rose from the ground. When they were given the clearance to leave, the engines fired and the craft was in motion. The ship passed through the protective shield and through the large doors and was in space.

From space the mines seemed all the more menacing—unnatural. On the monitors the magnified views of the silver cylinders glinted with nasty light.

Styles was at the controls and sat staring ahead, struggling to decide which way would be the best to navigate through the field.

‘Just relax; concentrate, the path will be revealed to you.’ Depa coaxed.

‘Right.’ He nodded and squared his shoulders and eased the ship forward.

Caleb couldn’t help but wonder why Depa always insisted on letting the clones do the jobs that would be more suitable for a Jedi to do. He liked the clones, of course, he was good friends with a few of them, but his fingers itched to take the yoke in hand and have a go at navigating the field.

A large red blip appeared on a screen beside Styles.

‘What’s that?’ Caleb asked, leaning forward to see.

‘A new vessel just came out of hyperspace behind us.’ Styles said, glancing down at it. Two more blips appeared. ‘They are enemy vessels.’ His voice grew somewhat tense.

Three Separatist ships appeared behind the _Intrepid_ , boxing her in. With the mines in front of her and the ships behind, there was nowhere to move.

The Separatists opened fire.

‘ _Intrepid_! Get out of there!’ Depa shouted as the ship rocked from nearby blaster fire.

_‘We’re under attack! Shields are down eighty percent!’_ The frantic voice of the clone captain left in charge came over the comm.

Pointed towards the field of mines, the ship had all of the power focused on the forward shields, leaving her stern exposed. Much too slowly, the Star Destroyer began to turn, its cannons sending volleys of blue laser bolts in retaliation to the Separatist fleet. Too close, the aft of the _Intrepid_ brushed against the nearest cluster of mines, causing a large, rocking explosion.

‘We better hope that doesn’t cause a chain reaction!’ Shouted Grey as the blackness was lit by another white-hot explosion. The _Intrepid_ had taken a direct hit. Fire was beginning to spout from different parts of the ship’s stern. It began to slowly list to one side. The red blasts from the Separatists intensified unmercifully. They smelled blood.

‘Styles, get us out of here.’ Depa said grimly.

The clone glanced over at her. ‘But—’

‘We need to be down on the surface before they spot us. We won’t be able to out-manoeuvre vulture droids.’

The shuttle peeled away from the brilliant firefight and turned its back on the burning, sinking wreck that was the _Intrepid_.

They began to weave their way through the space mines. Everyone seemed shaky and watched with quiet anxiety as Styles navigated through the mine clogged space. One static covered monitor still relayed the images of the scene behind them. The _Intrepid_ was no more. Fires were burning out, due to lack of oxygen yet small explosions still erupted here and there as the ship slowly sank. The three Separatist battleships sat like grim vultures now, overseeing the whole mess; no longer firing.

‘They must not see us, right? They’d be coming after us if they did, wouldn’t they?’ the trooper called Buck spoke up.

No one was quick to answer.

‘Unless, of course,’ Grey said slowly, ‘they know a greater threat awaits us below.’

All eyes drifted back towards the view of the planet ahead.

‘I’ll bet that Neimoidian is behind this.’ Snipe said, gripping his blaster tighter. ‘Son of a k—’

There was a horrible explosion and the group staggered, reaching for the handholds.

‘What was that?’ Padmé asked as the confusion died down.

A warning klaxon began to sound. The ride had just gotten a lot bumpier.

‘A mine hit starboard side!’ Styles said through gritted teeth, trying to guide the now wobbling craft down to safety. Another mine blossomed into a yellow blast to their left this time.

‘They’re detonating the mines! Those ships must have a master control!’ Grey snarled over the deafening sound of blasts now all around.

Styles accelerated and wound in and out of the detonating blasts, while the rest of the passengers hung on. There was a loud explosion near the back of the ship and the group was jolted roughly, Caleb’s teeth clacked together and he groaned.

‘There goes our engine.’ muttered Styles as he jerked the controls to avoid another blast. Smoke began to billow. Caleb wished he had a helmet to filter the air.

‘We’ve reached the atmosphere! This could get really hot really fast!’

Like a streaking comet hell bent on smashing into the earth, the shuttle screamed through the air. The already damaged right wing tore free and went flipping out of sight.

Below them, bright blue water shimmered everywhere. The large greyish-tan shoreline of an island was the only place where the wreck could possibly land. And it looked like they were going to miss it.

Depa shut her eyes and instantly blocked out the noise. She concentrated on the path the ship was taking in its crash; she pictured the beach below them, envisioning the way the ship would have to fall in order to land on shore. Gathering the Force about her, Depa fixated on every part of the ship, focused on the atmosphere around them.

So subtly that Depa didn’t know it had worked till she opened her eyes, she saw that the trajectory of the shuttle had shifted so it was now plummeting towards the shoreline instead of the water.

Fire erupted around the ship and smoke began to clog up the air.

‘So much for not attracting any attention to ourselves!’ Caleb shouted over the noise.

‘Hang on!’ Styles cried, managing to pull the yoke up enough to save the ship from crashing nose first into the ground. With a horrible _crunch!_ the shuttle hit the uneven ground and slid for almost a hundred metres before finally coming to a sharp rest at the shoreline of the large expanse of water.

‘Everybody out. NOW!’ Depa barked, grabbing supplies left and right till her hands were full. Her group did the same as Caleb cut a large enough hole in the side of the ship; then squeezed out and staggered away from the smoking wreck. With a great _boom!_ the fire reached the fuel cells and in seconds shuttle was no more. The group collapsed to the sandy grass besides Depa and Grey who both stood, staring darkly at the flaming crash.

‘Well, that’s one hell of a flare, signalling where we are,’ Grey said at last.

Depa nodded slowly then turned to the group. ‘Anyone hurt?’

No one was seriously injured, yet Styles had a broken arm which Depa went to work on immediately. Once it was set, she promised she’d spend more time on healing it when she had a chance.

At the moment however, it was unanimously agreed that they had to move out and away from the crash site in case a patrol of droids.

‘I think we need to make our way to the palace; meet with Zahn and find out what is going on.’ Padmé said after a moment of silence.

All turned to face her, staring in disbelief except for Depa, who’s brow was furrowed thoughtfully.

‘With all due respect, Senator, you can’t expect us to go strolling up to the palace gates and ask for a visit with the governor after what just happened!’ Buck spoke up.

Grey glanced over at his Jedi superior. ‘If I know you as well as I think I do, I’d say by the look on your face you agree with her.’

Depa surveyed the group, evaluating how strong they looked. They seemed capable of pulling through whatever lay ahead. ‘I do agree with the senator. I honestly think that Zahn was telling the truth. I think he is scared for his life. I don’t believe he knows who set up those mines. I think the Separatists know he’s turned on them and they decided to monitor the system much closer than usual.’

Grey rossed his arms across his plasteel armoured chest. ‘Then why didn’t they shoot us down? You can’t say they didn’t spot us.’

‘Maybe the droids down here are alerted to our presence. They may not have wanted to destroy any of their fighters in the minefield.’ Caleb said.

‘They have us stranded on a planet under their control. They don’t have any reason to worry.’ Padmé pointed out.

That was the bitter truth.

‘Well, what are we waiting for them? Let’s go!’ Caleb pushed himself to his feet, followed closely by the rest of the group.

They stood in a semi-circle as Depa debated which way to go. Water stretched on in all directions. Behind them ran a long stone wall made of smooth round stones. Beyond that wall the rounded roofs of houses and the tops of green leafy trees could just be seen. The wall as about three metres high, but looked easily enough to climb, even without the aid or liquid cable launchers. Where they stood now was a sandy, rocky beach where a few water birds cried noisily around them.

‘Caleb and I will check out what’s over the wall. We’ll come back to you and then we’ll figure out what to do. Just in case a patrol comes, I think you should get out of sight. Head for that cove over there.’ Depa pointed a little ways down the beach to where a few large rocks were strewn about, good enough for the group to hide in.

The clones nodded and gathered up the belongings that had been managed to be saved and then hurried off down the beach as Depa and her Padawan trotted up to the large wall.

There were plenty of handholds, which made it a very swift, easy climb. The two Jedi kept silent as they scaled the wall and very slowly they eased themselves up just enough to peer over. The view beyond was of a small village; surrounded by a natural cliff face with a deep blue lagoon at its centre. Around the cliff clay structures stood on wooden platforms and carved into the rock walls. There was only one visible entrance that the Jedi could see: a small tunnel that led out the opposite cliff wall. At the entryway Depa noticed a lone crab droid standing sentry. A few people, humanoid by the looks of them, milled about, all keeping far from the droid. The atmosphere was a palpable nervousness.

Both Jedi dropped from the wall and trotted back to the rocky outcropping where the rest of the troop was loitering.

‘Well, there’s no major threat on the other side of that wall. It’s just a small village. There is one crab droid, but my main concern is having a fire fight and the villagers getting hurt.’ Depa said as she approached.

Grey splashed through the very shallow water out to her. ‘I think the tide is coming in fast. I am assuming that wall is here to protect those people on the other side. We better figure out what to do pretty quick or we’ll be swimming soon.’

Padmé, Buck and Hunter were wearing backpacks carrying the med supplies, food and thermal blankets. The other clones were distributing the rest of the supplies to a few more packs. Everyone would have to carry one. Depa took one for herself and slung it over her shoulder and handed one to Caleb. Around their boots, larger waves were beginning to lap.

‘Come on.’ Depa said, motioning for the group to hurry towards the great wall. ‘Cable launchers, Senator do you need—’

‘No thank you, Depa, I have one.’ Padmé said, expertly aiming and releasing the cable. It bit into the rock near the top of the wall and held firm. Depa smiled as the rest of the clones followed suit. Depa and Caleb didn’t bother. It was assuring to see Padmé climb the wall just as swiftly as the rest of the group and soon they were all peering over the top of the wall again.

‘Grey, you got a droid popper on you? I don’t want to make a scene here.’

Grey fished in his utility belt and pulled out the grenade. ‘Sure thing. Always got several with me.’

‘You can’t throw it that far, sir. It has to be forty metres.’ Snipe said, looking over at Depa.

‘Quiet! She knows what she’s doing!’ Grey barked angrily. He placed the droid popper into Depa’s outstretched palm, smiling beneath his helmet.

Depa gathered the Force around her and concentrated on the sphere in her hand. It rose from her palm and drifted easily over the wall. The group tracked the silver ball with their eyes as it floated across the blue lagoon and over to the boardwalk where the squat droid was standing. Depa moved her hand in a downward motion and the droid popper hit the wooden platform. The droid looked down at it as electrical volts started to crawl over the ball’s surface. Suddenly, an electrical pulse jolted through the droid’s circuits. As it overloaded, it crumpled to its side like a dead spider. Thankfully, none of the villagers noticed the silent drama.

Grey nodded his head slowly.

‘Damn…’ Snipe said slowly, still staring at the sparking mess of broken crab droid.

Depa didn’t waste any time. She swung herself up and over the wall and dropped to the other side.

Caleb followed closely. The group of villagers looked up, frozen from what they were doing and stared wide-eyed at the Jedi. As more clones and the senator began to lower themselves down, a collective gasp came from their watchers and then a horn sounded somewhere in the cliff face. People scattered.

‘Hey, wait!’ Caleb shouted as ladders began to be pulled up and doors began to slam. Soon the group was standing in an eerily quiet and deserted village.

‘Well, so much for getting directions.’ Chance muttered, shifting his rifle slightly.

Depa didn’t hesitate, but went dashing down the roughly hewn wooden planks around the lagoon till she came to the tunnel opening and the sparking remains of the sentry. Her companions were close on her heels. Depa gestured to Caleb and both of them slipped into the darkened passageway. The right side of the tunnel was solid rock whilst the left side had small carved windows that gave a view of the water beyond. Shadows flickered on the opposite wall and ceiling, making the tunnel seem as if it were underwater. The tunnel rose steadily and after the Jedi rounded one final turn they came out onto a sandy path leading through a few large, evenly spaced trees. Not far beyond that, the path moved out across the water; just a narrow piece of hewn rock where one had to walk single file or risk falling a ways into the blue water. This path rose fiercely to where it finally stopped at another walled village sitting upon an island with hundred metre cliffs on all sides. Unlike the village they’d left, this one was clearly more populated, and the standing aerials promised some technology.

There were no droids around, to Depa and Caleb’s great relief. Yet the trees offered no cover for them and the Jedi could easily see in all directions. Depa called the rest of the group up. When they had all arrived she pointed out the city in the distance. ‘It’s quite a walk, and a climb. I have no doubt that there will be other droid sentries. Zahn said he’d send the droids out into the city so they wouldn’t run into us. Funny how things change. I suppose our options are to walk along the path, in plain view and then most likely fight our way to the palace, or swim, still a huge chance of being spotted and then scale the cliff, which will add at least six hours to our journey.’

The group fell silent for a brief moment. Neither option sounded too pleasant.

‘Or,’ Caleb said. ‘We could commandeer that gunboat headed towards us.’ He pointed and sure enough, a boat was skimming over the surface of the water on repulsorlifts.

‘It’s a droid patrol. Probably coming to check out the smoke from our crash.’ Grey reported, lowering his macrobinoculars.

‘I only see one boat. That shouldn’t be too much of a problem.’ Depa said thoughtfully. ‘All right, that’s our best chance. Everybody back in the tunnel before they spot us. We’ll take them by surprise.’ The group slipped back into the protecting shadows and silently drew their weapons. The noise of the boat’s engines drew nearer and then were cut off. The voices of droids floated over to them, though they were still somewhat indistinguishable from the waves and distance.

Yet as they drew closer, the group could make out what was being said: ‘We’ve got to be prepared. The violence is really getting out of hand!’

‘My photoreceptors are starting to play tricks on me. Every shadow I see is making me jump!’ The first droid came into sight. Two lightsabers, one blue and one green, activated.

‘Boo.’ Caleb said.

‘What the—’

Caleb’s green blade slashed through the droid. Depa and her Padawan raced from the tunnel, catching the droids by surprise. Grey charged out on their heels, his large blaster rifle mowing down unfortunate droids in his path. The senator and the other clones were right behind, firing away. The fight was over almost as quickly as it had started. The small patrol was nothing more than a sparking, molten mess of metal.

Depa deactivated her lightsabre, satisfied with the outcome, then headed towards the shoreline and the bobbing gunboat. She slid into the pilot’s seat and searched the controls, then found the comm unit. ‘Maybe we can contact Zahn on this thing.’ She turned to Caleb who slid into the seat beside her. ‘

Is that a good idea?’ Caleb asked hesitantly.

‘We might as well let him know we survived the crash. This search party is going to be missed soon; we’d better hurry up and decide.’

Padmé realised that Depa was looking at her expectantly. She was the one who was going to make this decision. ‘Contact him,’ she said firmly.

Depa nodded and turned back to the controls. After a moment, Zahn’s bent figure shimmered before them in hologram form. He gave out a wheezy gasp of surprise. ‘Oh thank the stars you’re all right! When the Separatists arrived I did everything I could to warn your ship, but I was too late.’

‘Well, there’s no way we can know that, now is there?’ Grey in Depa’s ear.

‘We’re all right. We managed to get hold of a droid patrol ship. It’s going to be hard to reach you, if all of the battle droids are in the city, however.’

Zahn nodded, wringing his hands together. ‘Oh, good, good that’s good to hear. Too bad you can’t take out the rest of them. Coincidentally, there happens to be a riot taking place right now on the other side of the city. That’s where the majority of the battle droids will be.’

‘Well, that’s convenient.’ Boxer said from the back of the boat.

‘There’s a docking bay on the west side of the island where you can leave the skiff. It has the security clearance to get you through and then you’ll be on the palace grounds.’

Depa fired up the engine. ‘Right, well, we’ll be there shortly.’

‘I will be here.’ Zahn said as the image died away.

 

After about ten minutes of traveling, they reached the base of the grey cliffs. Far above them rested the city. Silver sea birds screamed and dove among the rocks and great waves pounded against partly submerged boulders. There was a rank smell of dead plants and fish close to the shore. It was slightly cold in the shadows; the giant stone tower blocked the weak sun, which was setting quickly. And a constant spray of water droplets showered the group as they spend around the island.

As they rounded the west side, they came rather suddenly upon a well concealed shipyard, completely abandoned by any life. Wooden docks stretched out on either side, while large and small craft, both practical and for leisure, bobbed up and down in the dark water.

Depa drastically reduced the speed, sending a small white crested wave racing from the prow of the boat. She turned the gunboat into the alcove and searched the dock for one sufficient for harbouring their awkward, circular craft. She found a large abandoned dock and guided the slow moving boat into the space. Styles and Chance leapt out swiftly and grabbed the fraying ropes that were lying about. They tied it to the pier and then helped Senator Padmé.

Depa slung herself out. ‘Not bad, considering how much time we just saved.’

‘Yeah but how do we get out of here now?’ Caleb asked, looking around. The rock walls stretched up before them, on the opposite side of the dock they were standing on there was a curving stairwell made of a dulling, rusting metal. This looked rather rickety and very time consuming. Along the side closest to them, which housed several military boats, sat the barred doors of an old cable lift. In fading black letters painted on the metal doors it read: NOT FOR PUBLIC USE. MILITARY AND ROYAL FAMILY ONLY.

Depa and Grey both moved towards the lift together. The windows were barred, though that wouldn’t stop a lightsaber. There was a lever and a slotted box firmly fashioned to the ground outside the gates. Depa tried the lever, but it didn’t move. She sighed in frustration. ‘You’d think Zahn would have told us about this.’ She muttered.

‘Maybe he expects us to follow the sign.’ Grey growled.

Padmé had stridden around the dock to the other side, where the staircase was. She stood at the base of the stairs and tested them out, tentatively standing on the bottom step. It didn’t seem very safe, especially if you had ten people all climbing at once.

Depa frowned back down at the lever and then called over her shoulder. ‘Caleb, see if there’s some sort of keycard in the boat!’

Caleb hopped lightly back into the boat and with the help of Styles, began to look. ‘Found it!’ He cried triumphantly, charging over to where his Master was standing. He slapped the card down into his Master’s open palm triumphantly and the Jedi swiped it through the slot. There was a _ding_ and the two barred metal doors rattled open. Buck whistled.

‘Well, that looks safe.’ Boxer remarked.

‘Haven’t these people heard of turbolifts?’ Caleb asked, eyeing the old cables.

Padmé, Snipe, Hunter and Chance drifted over.

‘Come on, the illustrious governor is awaiting us.’ Grey said tersely, stepping inside the old lift. Caleb and Chance followed. Depa, Buck and Boxer were next and finally Padmé, Snipe, Styles and Hunter stepped aboard. Depa looked around the crammed cable car. ‘Ready?’ She asked, finger hovering over the button.

‘Yeah, sooner we get out of here the better!’ Styles said from where he was crushed against the wall. Depa grinned and pushed the button.

There was a terrible groaning, protesting sound, a jolt and then the contraption shuddered to life. They began the slow, laborious climb upwards.

‘Well, this could get really bad really fast.’ Caleb said to no one in particular.

‘I bet it would have been quicker to take those blasted stairs.’ Grey muttered from the very back.

Depa smiled, amused by the situation. All of them crammed into a tiny elevator, it wasn’t something you saw every day.

After possibly five minutes the elevator jerked to a stop and with an exhausted _ding_ the doors screeched open. They didn’t open all the way and Depa and Padmé had to pry them apart, which caused the tortured sound of metal to screech out loudly in the quiet air.

The group spilled out onto a grassy lawn with large palm trees and sandy dirt. A high, yellowish duracrete wall covered three sides, while the forth opened up into a large building the same colour and material.

Standing in the shadow of one of the palms, in a shimmersilk robe and krait skin boots was Rah Zahn. To Depa’s great relief there were no battle droids to be seen. If Zahn had wanted to ambush them, now would have been the ideal time. She shot Grey an _I-told-you-so_ look and then, adopting a pleasant smile, strode forward with Caleb and Padmé to meet Zahn. The Neimoidian seemed absolutely overjoyed to see them. He kept stuttering over his words of welcome while he absentmindedly adjusted his pointed miter, which kept insisting on slipping from his sweaty brow. ‘I—I am so honoured to meet you finally, Master Jedi! And who’s this handsome young man? Your student? And you? Are you the senator? Yes, I recognize you from earlier when we spoke. I am delighted to have you here!’

‘Thank you. I’m Depa Billaba, this is my Padawan, Caleb Dume and Senator Amidala.’ The Jedi gestured around the group. The troopers lingered about in the background, except for Grey, who hovered near Depa’s right elbow.

‘It’s a pleasure, cannot thank you enough. Why don’t we all go inside, night falls rather quickly around here, it isn’t a very pleasant place at night. Gets rather chilly. But we can go inside and have some tea and discuss—’

‘I’m sorry, but are there any battle droids inside? We don’t want to cause a scene.’

‘Oh, no. I sent them all out and ordered them not to come back till the morning. That should give us enough time to make all the travel arrangements.’

‘Travel arrangements? Sir, we are without transport. And we haven’t even discussed the terms of helping you out yet.’ Depa said.

‘Right, right, let’s all go inside then and I’ll tell you my tale.’ He shuffled off through the archway.

Grey waved over the rest of the clones.

‘So, what’s up?’ Hunter asked trotting up to the procession.

‘Negotiation. The boring stuff.’ Caleb murmured to him.

Padmé and Depa were both talking with Zahn as they walked into a stone courtyard.

At first, Grey thought they were still outside, then he realised it was crystal glass made to look as if there was nothing there. There was a round stone table off to the side and a fountain at the centre of the room. Zahn gestured for the Jedi and senator to sit, which they did, Depa more hesitantly than Padmé. Caleb trotted over and sat down next to his Master.

Grey leaned over to the other men. ‘I want you boys to keep both eyes open, got that?’ He grunted as the group nodded. ‘I don’t trust this situation.’

Zahn sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking much more at ease than he had a few moments ago. He had offered tea to both the Jedi and the senator. They all politely refused, he helped himself to some though; he needed something to calm his frazzled nerves.

‘You see, my friends, I’m a business man, nothing more. I’ll admit I’ve had some shady dealings in the past, and consequently I have made quite a few enemies. But I always had the Trade Federation backing me up, so I was never worried.’

Depa arched a brow, her face hinting amusement. ‘So now that you got on the Federation’s bad side, you’re crawling to the Republic for help?’

Padmé shook her head slightly in a private gesture asking her to be still.

Zahn held up a hand. ‘Please, let me continue. I really never liked being at the centre of attention—at all, actually. In the business world, I stumbled upon the trade of zekesh, a type of mineral that is extremely hard to find. It’s used to make…questionable items.’

Depa leaned forward. ‘What do you mean, “questionable items”?’

‘Uh,’ Zahn shifted slightly. ‘A drug, actually. A drug called chetz. It’s illegal on most planets, and for good reason; it’s known to be hallucinogenic, causing people to do very violent things under its influence, it also eats away at your organs. Very nasty stuff.

‘The planet I was trading with—I’ll leave their name out of it—I would ship off the zekesh and then bring in mining equipment and weapons from other planets and affiliations that had an interest in the mineral. The Trade Federation, before the run-ins with terrorist groups and that unfortunate incident on Naboo, they were a good company that wanted a clean image. Then they joined league with these Separatists and everything went downhill from there.’

Depa almost rolled her eyes.

‘Anyway, as I was saying, the Federation wanted a clean image so I couldn’t be open about what I was exporting. All they knew was that I was growing filthy rich. As I am sure you know, this is probably the greatest aspiration for any of my people. Whenever they would ask me what I was dealing in, I’d try to steer the subject away.’ Zahn paused to take a sip of tea while his audience waited for him to continue.

‘Of course, after a while suspicion grew and I had to either drop my clients, or come clean and risk the possibility of _losing_ my clients. I decided that I should come clean. Being caught in a lie is never a good thing. Unfortunately, it seems that in this incident, this was the wrong thing to do. The Federation pushed its way in and, not please I was operating outside of them, took over my private operation. Both groups I was working with, the mineral miners and the groups buying the mineral, were enraged—they didn’t take it too well that I had talked—squealed—they said, that’s not something you’re supposed to do in the drug trade. You can make a lot of enemies that way.

‘Anyway, I returned to Cato Neimoidia a rich man and lived there quietly, watching events unfolding in the galaxy around me. It was after the war started that I was contacted by Viceroy Gunray to join a panel of strategists. He said my cunning mind might be useful.’ Zahn shook his head, as if the thought of him being considered cunning was absurd. ‘I suppose I did all right at it. They didn’t ask me to leave and I did win a few battles. I kept up with all of the fleet and base locations and had them memorised, because I wasn’t permitted to write them down.

‘After another victory, I was offered governorship over the planet I had just won. Mahdella seemed like a pleasant place. The ruling family, who the people didn’t seem to like, had fled the planet before the attack. All I had to do was move in. The people obviously liked them more than me though, I wasn’t well received. Things went fine for a while, then when it came time to pay taxes and Separatist control became more predominate, they revolted.

‘There are two main groups here on Mahdella. There’s the Moriee, they are the violent group that lives in the city, and the Cave Dwellers, who live out on the far island. They are timid and not advanced in technology so they are not a problem. The Moriee are the ones I have had to worry about. Violence got out of hand and I was at a loss about how to deal with it all.’ He threw his hands in the air. ‘I contacted Count Dooku, but he was enraged that I’d let the situation get so out of control. I’ll be happy to let the Moriee take back power as long as I’m allowed to live. I need someone skilled with these sorts of things to speak with them.’ He looked imploringly at Padmé. ‘Once it is all figured out, then we can go back to Coruscant and I’ll be happy to tell you any information you want.’

‘I thank you for your honesty, governor Zahn, and I can assure you that the senate will be very lenient on your sentence since you approached us so willingly with this. I will be happy to speak with the Moriee as soon as we can arrange a meeting. I am afraid this situation cannot be resolved overnight, but I am confident we can return peace to this planet.’ Padmé said with a soft smile.

Depa looked up. ‘I hate to be the little black rain cloud here, but there are several major flaws with this plan. One, there are three Separatist battleships sitting idly up in orbit, just waiting for a chance to blast us out of the sky. Two, we have no transport, so leaving this rock is pretty much impossible anyway, and three, there’s still the problem with battle droids. Are we planning on just leaving them here for the Moriee to death with?’

‘The transport is the greatest problem. The Moriee blew up my hanger this week. Very unfortunate piece of luck that was. I know they have at least two CloakShapes in an underground hanger. But that place is so well guarded it’d be impossible to reach.’

‘Maybe they’d give us one, if we were promising to get you off planet.’ Caleb said.

‘Or they’d think we were trying to reach the battleships up in orbit. Unless Senator Amidala is a very convincing speaker, I doubt we’ll be getting any ships from them.’ Depa glanced over at Padmé.

‘We could contact the senate.’

Depa was shaking her head. ‘Not until those three major inconveniences are good and gone.’ Her eyes drifted upward towards the darkening sky.

‘And the battle droids?’

Depa turned her attention back to Zahn. ‘The battle droids can be dealt with, I think,’ he said.

‘I sincerely hope you’re not suggesting my men and I go out and try to destroy all them.’

‘No, please, let me finish. There’s a reason that this city is built so high. Mahdella’s core is made of water. Every now and then there are eruptions from the deep. The level of water can get obscenely high. The next flooding is in just a few days. If I send the great majority of the droids down to the lower island, they’ll drown!’

Depa frowned. ‘Technically, they can’t drown, because they don’t breath, but that’s beside the point. I don’t know if that will work. It certainly hasn’t been done before, that I’m aware of. And there’s another problem. We don’t know if these droids are still under your control. From what it sounds like, Dooku may be finding someone else to replace you.’

‘They obeyed me earlier, with hardly a complaint.’ Zahn said, though this thought did seem to make him much more nervous.

‘Well, I’m sure that those ships aren’t up there for sightseeing. I wouldn’t be too surprised if you are going to be receiving a visit from them soon. If the subject of us comes up, you cannot tell them that you’ve seen us, or spoken to us, do you understand?’ Depa’s face was serious; her soft features somehow made frightening.

‘Why can’t I just come with you? We could all go into hiding together and let them think I’ve been killed or something!’

‘No. You need to convince them that you can handle the situation. Don’t let them know we are here; you have to pretend to be on their side. Don’t give any of this away. Say you’ll send the droids out after us, do send the droids out after us. Do whatever you have to. If they realise you’re no longer with them, they’ll probably kill you, put a new much ruthless ruler in charge and this planet will never be free, and we’ll never get our information.’

Zahn glanced fugitively around him, as if someone was sneaking into the room right now to do him in. ‘So glad to know I’m loved,’ he muttered.

Caleb was still bothered by something. ‘What about these Cave Dwellers? Won’t they be wiped out in the flood?’

‘The Cave Dwellers have a large hollowed out safe room well above the flooding level. The cliffs that surround their island are much higher than the water level. Some of the braver, younger generations travel to the city. At least that is what I’ve been able to research about them.’

Caleb glowered. ‘It seems like something better should be done about that.’

Depa caught Caleb’s eye. ‘That is not our concern right now, Padawan. But I don’t like the idea of sending all those battle droids into a populated area.’

Zahn nodded. ‘Yes, of course. I’m sure there is another way to get rid of them.’ Zahn pulled out a datapad from his large robe and slid it over to Depa.

She looked down at it. It was a journal entry, she was surprised that he had so randomly given it to her. The small piece she read was: _I greatly fear for my safety. Dooku has hinted at the fact that I may be replaced—or worse! I decided to do two things that I thought I would never have to do. One, I have contacted the Republic for help, and two, I have implanted myself with a tracking device…_

Zahn was still talking and Depa returned her attention back to what was being said.

 

Chance was not very interested in the conversation. He didn’t care to hear the Neimoidian’s life story. In his personal opinion, it was all very dull. Glancing around the vast room, Chance didn’t see anything of much interest. There wasn’t much furniture or odd décor to look at. For a palace—a Neimoidian’s palace no less—it was not very impressive.

It was getting dark out, and glowrods had been lit. Chance’s companions were standing stock still, their blasters against their chests. Grey’s head was moving slightly from side to side every now and then, surveying the area. Chance tried to do the same. He didn’t really know what to look for, besides battle droids.

Chance hadn’t been in too many battles, he was still considered to be what the more experienced troopers called ‘Shiny’, or inexperience. He was newly recruited and the battle on Bimmisaari had been the hardest thing he’d done. He realised how much harder fighting in the real world was compared to the training exercises he’d went through on Kamino. He honestly didn’t know how long he’d be able to survive out in the real world.

As Chance tuned out the droning voices discussing what to do, he swept the room with his eyes again. He studied the carved design on one of the pillars and traced it up to the skylight. The bright stars glittered above, there were a few clouds, but it was mostly clear. The skylight was one large, smooth pane of glass that was completely flawless, or at least had been at one time. There was a small circular hole that Chance almost missed; cut in the glass near the top of the pillar he had just been looking at. It seemed rather odd and out of place. It was too neatly cut for something like a rock or other projectile to have broken it. Perhaps some sort of antenna went out through it.

Chance was debating on whether or not to tell his commander, when a squat rabbit droid waddled into the room. ‘Excuse me, sir, but there is someone wanting to speak with you via hologram.’ Everyone turned to look at the droid.

Zahn looked nervous again. ‘Oh dear, what could this be about?’ He pushed himself out of his chair and started towards the far end of the building. It was in that moment that the silent fears of the group came true. There was a quick flash of silver and a metallic _plunk!_ as something hit the floor. A round, grey sphere had just dropped through the circular hole.

A grenade.

Time seemed to freeze.

Chance heard Depa have enough time to shout: ‘Everybody down!’ before the device exploded. It wasn’t shrapnel that burst from the device but blinding white light and deafeningly loud sound. Chance fell to his knees, an unintentional scream escaping his lips before his world went completely black and silent.


End file.
